Thursday, January 31, 2008

On weekday mornings, environmental lawyer Michael Ernst rides the commuter train from Westborough to South Station in Boston. The train, he said, is often late. But usually, one of his fellow stranded passengers will help him cope.

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Yes, from the T itself... hard to believe but true, they do publish T-Alerts and they have been pretty accurate, much more so that the stupid message board.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Now that Franklin's Brick School Task Force has issued a contentious final report - with a divided opinion as to whether to keep the 175-year-old, one-room, brick schoolhouse open - a decision on its disposition rests with the School Committee.

Franklin parent Donna Martel said it was a choice between higher property taxes or even higher fees for high school sports, school clubs and non-mandated busing.

"It was still going to be cheaper," she said of the override. "It worked out."

and

For senior citizen Marion Melo, that means she can no longer buy whatever groceries she wishes and must shop at Bellingham's cheaper Market Basket, rather than at Franklin's more expensive Stop & Shop or Shaw's.

When Mendon resident Russ Gregoire opened his third-quarter property tax bill earlier this month, he knew there would be a substantial increase from two overrides passed by town voters. Mendon grabbed the highest ranking in the Milford area thanks to two votes to go beyond the limits of Proposition 2-1/2. In Westborough, the average tax bill jumped nearly 8 percent this year - higher than many nearby MetroWest towns.